"Rest up, then get your ass back to training!" A kick landed on Lambert's backside, shooing the jittery girl away.
"Come back!" The young woman had only taken a few steps before Gael called her back.
"At nine o'clock sharp, assemble at the Great Training Ground. You hear me?"
"Yeah."
Waving a hand as if shooing away a fly, Gael dismissed the girl once more, then turned back to Altaïr and said, "Part of the reason I called you over is because of her."
"Looks like a troublemaker."
"She doesn't just look like one; she is a troublemaker."
Gael huffed, but then she sighed. "But this one isn't your ordinary troublemaker. She's also the Chief Student of the training camp."
"That kid is the Chief Student?!" Francesca's eyes went wide.
Altaïr was also somewhat surprised. The so-called "Chief Student" was not an official position, but rather the title given to the undisputed strongest among the trainees who had yet to graduate.
Teacher Karin and Isis had also graduated from the Dundorma Hunter Training Camp. Before their graduation, they too had been called the Chief Student.
Even now, Teacher Haifa would occasionally address Teacher Karin as "Chief," a habit leftover from their training camp days.
"Yeah, you just heard Francesca say it. She entered the training camp in April the year before last. That means she's had only a year and a half of formal training, and she's already become the Chief Student and is preparing to apply for graduation.
"Normally, the average training period at a Hunter Training Camp is three years. She did it in half the time.
"How long did it take you to graduate back then, Altaïr?"
"I never attended a training camp," Altaïr answered truthfully.
"Oh, I almost forgot. You were trained the traditional way, through the mentor-apprentice system."
"Speaking of which, how long did Isis take to graduate?" Altaïr asked, somewhat curious. "I remember Isis was barely sixteen when she became an official hunter, right?"
"Isis was different. Amos started training her bit by bit when she was very young. Lambert hadn't undergone any proper hunter training before entering the training camp."
Gael sighed. "In any case, she's not even seventeen yet. Her training period has been too short. My thinking is to have her train for at least another six months, then reconsider graduation after the hunting grounds open next year. Even then, she would only have trained for two years.
"But she seems very determined to apply for graduation as soon as possible.
"The Chief Student is supposed to be a role model for the other trainees. If she applies for the examination after only a year and a half, what do you think the other senior trainees who see her as a target will do?"
"So that's how it is." Altaïr understood.
Perhaps because he himself had become an official hunter when he was just over sixteen, almost seventeen, Altaïr didn't find Lambert's age particularly noteworthy.
"What do you think of her skill level? Can she meet the standard for a 1★ Hunter?"
At that question, Gael's expression turned a bit odd. After a few seconds of inner conflict, she reluctantly admitted, "To be honest, she's basically there.
"That kid is freakishly talented. If she were using any other weapon, even the Sword and Shield, which is the easiest to pick up, her skill would absolutely be insufficient. But... maybe it's some kind of hereditary musical talent? The way she plays the Hunting Horn is... how should I put it, almost frightening."
Francesca, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but interject, "Wait, what? I have musical talent too. I can play both the violin and the flute, and my teacher had me try the Hunting Horn as well. But is there really a connection between musical talent and the Hunting Horn?
"Even if your playing technique is superb, at most your melodies just activate a bit faster and your support effects become a bit more comprehensive. When it comes to actual combat, isn't it still just a long-handled Hammer?"
"You? That mediocre talent of yours barely counts as anything. She can kill a Bullfango stone dead from three to five meters away using Echo Waves. Can you do that?"
Francesca choked.
You're calling that musical talent?
Gael continued, "You know Ferdie, right? A veteran 7★ Hunting Horn user who's been famous for years. We invited him to the training camp to give a lecture before, and after that guy met Lambert, he said plainly that he wanted to take her on as his apprentice.
"But Lambert refused. The reason was that she found Ferdie's melodies 'graceful,' but not 'wild' enough, and that they weren't on the same path as her.
"Ferdie also said that she can forge a completely new path, entirely different from that of any other Hunting Horn user."
Listening to this, Altaïr felt the urge to grimace.
If he and Isis were generalists who could adapt to multiple weapons, then that girl named Lambert was a specialist who had poured all her talent into the Hunting Horn.
If such a promising prospect entered the hunting grounds too early due to insufficient experience, then got careless and was gored to death by a Bullfango... that would be a tragedy no mere "what a pity" could excuse. The instructors would regret it for the rest of their lives.
But to be honest, Altaïr had a feeling that Gael's plan to invite him here for a demonstration might not achieve its intended effect.
His own skills could perhaps impress the other Blademaster students, but he feared they would have little impact on Lambert.
The reason was simple: the Hunting Horn was technically a melee weapon, but it was vastly different from traditional blades like the Long Sword or Great Sword. Only the Hammer had a slight overlap, and even that came with the prerequisite that the user actually treated the Hunting Horn like a long-handled Hammer.
Lambert was clearly not that type. From Gael's description, she excelled at damaging enemies with sonic attacks like Echo Waves and Shockwaves.
In other words, everything he could demonstrate was completely outside Lambert's scope of application. How could she possibly feel anything?
His physical prowess might surprise her a bit.
But he put himself in her shoes. If he were the same person he had been three years ago, would he, upon seeing a superior whose physical fitness far exceeded his own, reflect and decide he should train for another year or so before considering promotion?
No. Back then, my head was filled with nothing but becoming an official hunter as fast as possible, proving myself, and charging into the hunting grounds to wreak havoc.
After carefully choosing his words, he shared his thoughts with Gael.
Gael let out a heavy sigh. "I understand what you're saying, too. I suppose we can only do our best. Even if we can't pull Lambert back, perhaps we can at least stop a few of the brats who want to 'blindly follow her lead.'"
—--
Following Gael, Altaïr arrived at the edge of the largest facility, Training Ground No. 1.
Ignoring the curious glances cast his way by the students, Altaïr also observed their training methods.
Unlike the group training he'd imagined, scenes of a crowd running laps together while carrying heavy loads, the hunter trainees' exercises were highly decentralized, with everyone pursuing completely different activities. Some were building physical fitness with training equipment; others practiced tactical maneuvers like rolling; still others drilled swordsmanship form by form, move by move.
According to Gael's explanation, each trainee's regimen was individually assigned by the Instructors based on their personal circumstances.
Hunters were not an army, after all; forcing everyone into the same mold offered little benefit.
Besides, every Instructor had extensive teaching experience, and the students they produced were not necessarily inferior to the personal disciples of high-rank Hunters.
After observing for a while, Altaïr also noticed some interesting details.
From the trainees' physiques and movements, it was easy to distinguish the newcomers from the veteran students.
The veteran students were noticeably more robust, with fuller, sharper Spirit. On one young man, he even glimpsed something that could only be called a "killing aura."
That young man hacked into the training dummy with his practice Sword and Shield, each strike heavier than the last, with no concern for injuring the webbing between his thumb and fingers or his wrists. He treated it not as a wooden target, but as a mortal blood-feud enemy.
But then, when Altaïr got a clear look at the young man's face, he froze.
Noticing Altaïr's gaze, Gael spoke. "That kid is called Archi. The hardest-working one in the entire training camp.
"He's been here less than two months, but he received Hunter training before he came. His strength is quite outstanding. If not for an anomaly like Lambert suppressing him from above, this year's Chief Student would be his without question.
"Unfortunately, he isn't any less of a headache either. Just like Lambert, he makes a fuss every day about applying for graduation.
"If we can't keep that freak Lambert, who has a few screws loose, at least let us keep him. You can probably see it too. His condition is a bit... not quite suited to becoming a Hunter immediately."
"His village was destroyed by Monsters, and all his family lost, leaving him with a blood vendetta?" Altaïr withdrew his gaze, his expression complicated.
"Yeah. The Old World has been fairly peaceful for the past decade, and vicious incidents like this aren't as frequent as in earlier years, but you can't exactly call them rare."
At this, Gael tugged at the corner of her mouth. "You read that quite accurately, lad. What, you know someone like that?"
"I am someone like that." Altaïr reined in his expression and steadied his emotions.
Gael rested her elbow on Altaïr's shoulder. "Funny coincidence. So am I."
(Translated by yourtl.app)